Eligible for extension, Colts RB Jonathan Taylor wants to be in Indianapolis

[JAFF]

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...y/69792715007/

INDIANAPOLIS — Jonathan Taylor is coming off the toughest season of his career.

One season after taking the NFL by storm in arguably the best single-season performance a Colts running back has ever had, Taylor battled a high ankle sprain all season long, missed six games and finished with just 861 yards, 22nd in the NFL.


But Taylor is also through his third season now, and that means Indianapolis has a decision to make. A player can sign a contract extension after his third season, and Taylor has one year left on his deal. Colts general manager Chris Ballard prefers to lock up players a year before they can hit free agency.

Taylor largely brushed off any talk of a potential contract extension Monday, saying only that there was another year on the deal and he’d like to be in Indianapolis.

“Oh, I would love to be in Indy,” Taylor said. “100%.”

Taylor also deflected a question about whether or not his injured ankle would need surgery, although he’s already had close to a month to recover, and he says it’s much better.


“It feels a lot better than what it did, so just continue to progress and work through that in the offseason, come back stronger than ever,” Taylor said.

Famously durable before this season, Taylor spends most of his time in the offseasons trying to prevent injury.

The 2022 season was a reminder that it’s impossible to completely prevent injury at his position.


“You hope it doesn’t happen again; the injury rate is 100%,” Taylor said. “But you go out there, and you play hard and you play your heart out every single play, every single down.”

Being forced to sit on the sidelines this season was difficult for Taylor, who hadn’t missed a game at any point in his career until he injured his ankle in a scrum against Tennessee in early October

Taylor’s chief goal, after brushing aside questions about his ankle and his contract, is finding a way to turn the Colts around.

“No. 1 is how can I contribute to the team, as far as: ‘What can I spread throughout this locker room?'” Taylor said. “How can I help elevate the guys that I play around? I use basketball as an example. When you have a great guy on the floor, they talk about how he elevates everyone around him.”